Loving gifts
by Ana Hazel
Summary: Mara and Luke exchange gifts on their first holiday together / written for the SJRS Details Exchange December Challenge.


**Title: ****Loving ****gifts**  
><strong>Author: <strong>Hazel  
><strong>Genre: <strong>romance, challenge entry  
><strong>Characters: <strong>L/M  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>The Star Wars Universe does not belong to me (unfortunately). I just like to play with it.

**Author's ****notes: **This is my entry for the SJRS Details Exchange Challenge. And the details were:

1) What is the name of the holiday? Midwinter Festival  
>2) What does Mara give Luke as a present? Engraved blaster (The engraving is up to the author)<br>3) What is Mara's reaction to Luke's gift to her? Tears, emotional tears of happiness, that she tries to hide/deny (wipes them away), but she smiles finally with true happiness.

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><p><strong>Loving <strong>**gifts.**

Luke Skywalker was still marvelling over the way his life had turned over the last month.

When this spin had started he was alone, striving to find his balance in the chaos that was his life, questioning his every step and hoping that somewhere along the way his path would become clearer.

It had taken a heartbreaking vision to set his life on the right path. He still shivered when he remembered the vision of Mara, floating in water and looking... dead. But that was in the past now, they had made it out of those caves alive and, against all odds, engaged.

And now Luke was going to give Mara her first real live family Midwinter Festival feast. He was pretty sure Mara had never had one before. So he was now on his way to pick her up and take her to the Solos where he hoped the rowdy mess his family usually made at these occasions was not enough to scare her off.

But just in case it was, he had her gift inside his pocket and would present it to her before they left for the party.

The door to Mara's apartment swooshed open before he even rang the bell. She looked wonderful and for a moment Luke wished they could just stay in. Mara's smirk let Luke know she had caught that and agreed.

Without hesitation, he reached for her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply. A part of him still couldn't believe that he was allowed to do that.

When they parted, Mara rested her hands on his shoulders. "Hello to you too, Farmboy."

"Hi." He breathed in her sent.

Seeing that Luke did not want to let go of her, Mara decided to move him along. "Should we get going?"

"Actually, I thought I'd give you my gift now." He smiled shyly.

"Are we exchanging gifts now? I thought that was done later, with the family."

"Usually, but I'd like to give this to you privately." He replied, leading her to the small couch in the middle of her living-room.

Before sitting down, Mara reached for a bag that had been lying by the door. "Okay, I've got your present right here."

After taking out a rectangular box, she joined him on the couch. It was then that she noticed the little box in Luke's hand.

Mara immediately knew what it contained.

"Luke, I thought I told you that you didn't have to do this."

"I know," he smiled at her and opened the box. "But this is special." Inside were two rings; they glowed in the dark.

Mara took one out, the smaller one, and inspected it. It appeared to be carved from a precious stone and its glow seemed a bit dim, but when she brought them closer together, the glowing turned brighter.

These were no ordinary rings.

"They were made out of a single Heart of Fire. They were made to be together, just like us, and they will last forever-"

"Just like us." Mara concluded. There was a little twinge in her voice and she took a deep breath to hide it.

"Allow me." Luke took the ring she was holding and her hand and then he slipped the ring onto her finger.

It was a perfect fit. "This gem, the Heart of Fire, is traditionally given to the person we love, they are usually red or blue, but if we compress them and work on them using the Force, they turn white, like this one."

"You made these?" Mara asked, taking the other ring from the box and slipping it onto Luke's finger. She tried to not look up at him because she could feel tears collecting in her eyes and she didn't want him to see them.

What was wrong with her? Mara Jade had never been sentimental before, but now... she would feel Luke's love radiating through the Force and now also through the ring on her finger, if that was possible.

"Yes. Thinking of you."

Before she realized it, he was holding her and kissing her wet cheeks.

"A hair got into my eye." She excused her tears.

"Yeah, hairs have a way of doing that." Luke replied, pushing the stray hair away and kissing her some more.

"Okay, now open my present." Mara pushed the box onto him in an effort to change the subject and thus regain her composure. "Not as _meaningful _as yours, but I would like it very much if you kept it on you at all times."

Curiously, Luke opened the box and took out a hold-out blaster, leaving its wrist holster in the box. It was just like Mara's. On its side was engraved an old Jedi saying – _Adaptation __is __the __key __to __survival. _After reading it, Luke chuckled.

In contrast, Mara was very serious. "I know you don't wear blasters but, please, for me, wear this, it could save your life someday."

Cupping her face with his right hand, Luke planted a kiss on Mara's forehead and then on her lips. "If it means that much to you, I will."

Mara put her arms around his neck and held him tightly. "Thank you! And thank you for my gift too. I love it."

"I love _you_." Luke returned the hug and sought to kiss her again, but was stopped by his buzzing comlink.

Picking it up, Luke read the message from Leia. "Leia is asking if we're gonna be much longer."

"Tell her we're on our way." Mara said, getting up and pulling her fiancée towards the door.

"All right, Skywalker, let's go tackle the family. And if those kids start to get too crazy, you can always use your new blaster to stun them."

Then again, maybe Mara would fit right into his crazy family.

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><p><strong>AN****2:** The Heart of Fire is listed on Wookeepedia, but I tweaked the detais a bit to bit this story better. The Jedi saying was taken from the episode _Citadel _(ep. 18, season 3) of the Clone Wars.


End file.
